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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — for digging
  4. drill — a practice
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bank — for money
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pop — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bank — of a river
  11. drill — army training
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — in a race
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bank — for money
  19. pop — soda
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pop — to visit

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