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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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Word bank
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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: pit · leaves · chip · spring · mine · bark · tear · dip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spring — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — to eat
  24. leaves — to go away

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