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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. rock — a stone
  4. land — ground
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. roll — a list
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — for betting
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — a country
  20. roll — a cake
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rock — music
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com