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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · tear · stem · ground · wind · lash

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. ground — the earth
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stem — to come from
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. ground — a position
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. stem — a stem cell

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