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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lean — thin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a music group
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — not warm
  17. band — a ring
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cold — an illness
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. root — of a plant
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hide — to keep secret

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