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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitch — completely
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. perch — the fish
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rest — a break
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — goods
  24. coach — a trainer

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