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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: hide · can · tube · wake · cold · chip · bear · cap

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cap — of ice
  11. can — a tin
  12. tube — a container
  13. can — to be able to
  14. tube — the underground
  15. can — a tin
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hide — animal skin

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