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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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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: temple · spring · snap · pit · chip · tear · cold · stand

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. pit — in a race
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — from crying
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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