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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bank — for money
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. field — a subject
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — of water
  10. bank — for money
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. field — farmland
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tear — to rip
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tear — from crying

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