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

Word bank: tear · ground · chip · wind · bank · chair

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bank — for money
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bank — of a river
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving 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