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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: chip · object · lean · tear · current · lash · squash · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. current — electric
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. current — of water
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. object — to protest
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chip — for betting
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chip — to eat
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — a thing
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. object — an aim
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. squash — the sport

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