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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. season — of the year
  5. chip — to eat
  6. branch — a division
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. chip — for betting
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pitcher — a jug

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