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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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 — in a computer
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — in cards
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stock — goods
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. root — of a plant
  12. tear — to rip
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — shares
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. root — the cause
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — help
  22. root — of a word
  23. chip — for betting
  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