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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chip — to eat
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — help
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. ground — a position

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