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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 broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. ground — the earth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — of water
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pop — music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — the season
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. branch — a division
  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