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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chip — to eat
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — an illness
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. tube — a container
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mine — for digging
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

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