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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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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: bowl · net · charge · hide · bear · tube · lean · cold

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. charge — a price
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. charge — in control
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. net — in sport
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tube — a container
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — the animal
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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