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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — in golf
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — to play on
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chip — for betting
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — music
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. file — a tool
  21. roll — a list
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — of a plant

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