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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · roll · chest · dip · spell · tube · lean · chip

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chest — a box
  12. dip — to sink
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — of your body
  17. roll — a cake
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chip — for betting
  21. roll — a list
  22. spell — a short time
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. tube — a container

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