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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. swing — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wind — to turn a key

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