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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. object — a thing
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. object — an aim
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. shower — rain
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. present — the time now
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. object — to protest
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — for sport
  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