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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chip — to eat
  5. tear — to rip
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. object — an aim
  10. present — there
  11. object — to protest
  12. plane — a tool
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. row — to paddle
  16. present — a gift
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. object — a thing
  19. row — a line
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. game — a match
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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