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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. charge — a price
  3. capital — money
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — magic
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spell — letters
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. charge — in control
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. charge — electricity
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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