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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. ball — a great time
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — to shout
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hand — help
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lean — thin
  17. season — in sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stock — goods
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stock — shares
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a round shape

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