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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. capital — a city
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. club — a group
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — to cut
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. club — for dancing
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — money
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — a video
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — a tin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. club — for golf

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