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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: mine · tear · rest · chip · arm · fall · court · game

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. game — wild animals
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — for betting
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a match
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rest — a break
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of a king
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — to eat
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mine — belonging to me

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