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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: chip · land · stem · court · last · bowl · mouse · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — to come from
  7. court — of law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. last — finally
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — of a king
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. last — to go on
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. last — final
  23. land — ground
  24. chip — in a computer

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