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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — to drop
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a city
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lean — thin
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mug — a face
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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