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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pit — a hole
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — a short time
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — an illness

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