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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: rock · wake · chip · chest · lie · degree · plane · tear

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wake — a trail
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — an amount
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. plane — a tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chip — for betting
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rock — music
  24. wake — before a funeral

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