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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: kick · wound · chip · chair · spring · bowl · tear · march

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — to eat
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — music
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. march — the month
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — the season
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chair — a leader

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