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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — of water
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spring — a coil
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. dip — to sink
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. chip — to eat
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — to bear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. clip — a video
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — the season
  24. safe — out of danger

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