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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: lean · face · bore · lie · cold · bowl · chip · roll

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. face — to confront
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. roll — a list
  24. chip — for betting

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