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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. present — there
  3. spring — the season
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — of water
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. present — the time now
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — from crying
  16. root — of a plant
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — a country
  19. present — a gift
  20. chip — to eat
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chip — for betting

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