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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — to rip
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chip — to eat
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a city
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fan — to cool the air

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