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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — the underground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — in a computer

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