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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: cold · root · foot · cap · mine · fan · chip · stick

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chip — for betting
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. root — the cause
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cap — of ice
  15. root — of a plant
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. foot — a measure
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — the Cold War

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