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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chip — for betting
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. snap — to click
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — help
  22. chip — to eat
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hand — in cards

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