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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — ground
  5. race — humankind
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — child
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. staff — employees
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — a country
  24. race — the arms race

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