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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fine — high quality
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fine — all right
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. staff — employees
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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