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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chip — to eat
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cap — a hat
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bass — low music
  22. lean — thin
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cell — a phone

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