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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. field — for sport
  8. pop — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chip — for betting
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. stem — to come from
  16. object — a thing
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pop — soda
  24. tear — from crying

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