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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — money
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — not warm
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. chest — of your body

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