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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. present — the time now
  3. chip — to eat
  4. shower — to wash
  5. present — a gift
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. lean — thin
  14. present — there
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lean — to bend
  22. shower — rain
  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