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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 120 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — for betting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. race — a contest
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — in a road
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. clip — a video

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