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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 120 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. scale — size or range
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — the earth
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chip — for betting
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. scale — in music
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. ground — crushed
  20. sharp — clever
  21. root — the cause
  22. ground — a position
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. root — of a word

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