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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cue — for pool
  4. land — ground
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — to rip
  8. last — final
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. chip — for betting
  15. last — finally
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. last — to go on
  23. cue — a signal
  24. land — to come down

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