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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cold — not warm
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. rock — a stone
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. hide — to keep secret

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