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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. staff — employees
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — a city
  11. craft — boats
  12. face — part of the head
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. face — to confront
  19. staff — employees
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. tube — the underground

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