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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stock — goods
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a city

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