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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. capital — money
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a city
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. root — of a word
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. root — of a plant
  16. shower — rain
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. root — the cause
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bowl — a football final

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