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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: deal · chip · court · tear · shower · lean · row · content

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — for sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. deal — to handle
  12. lean — thin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — to paddle
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — rain
  17. court — of a king
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chip — for betting
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. row — a line
  22. court — of law
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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