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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. ground — crushed
  3. current — of water
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. current — electric
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. current — happening now
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — a position
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. ground — the earth

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