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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 · stand · lie · roll · straw · cold · kid · hand

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. roll — a list
  12. lie — to recline
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stand — to bear
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — a cake
  23. hand — help
  24. stand — on your feet

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