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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ground — a position
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. season — of the year
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ground — the earth

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