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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fall — the season
  16. season — of the year
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — music
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. capital — money

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