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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 120 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 · mark · lean · hand · stick · cold · perch · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — to eat
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lean — thin
  24. perch — for a bird

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