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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — a lid
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lean — thin
  15. shower — rain
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — an illness

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