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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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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: lean · fork · chip · date · hide · mine · fine · cold

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. date — the fruit
  6. lean — to bend
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lean — thin
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fine — all right

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