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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tear — to rip
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spring — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lean — thin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. mate — to breed
  21. scale — in music
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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