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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 116 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fine — high quality
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — money
  21. fine — all right
  22. capital — a city
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. clip — to cut

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