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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: content · cold · trunk · chip · sharp · drill · bear · hide

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. sharp — clever
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. content — happy
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — army training
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. drill — a practice
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chip — for betting
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chip — to eat

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