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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — a container
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — the underground
  23. prune — to trim
  24. branch — of a bank

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