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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. present — a gift
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. firm — steady
  6. present — the time now
  7. wound — an injury
  8. firm — decided
  9. wound — an injury
  10. firm — a company
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cold — an illness
  14. field — for sport
  15. present — there
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. chip — to eat
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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