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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. chip — to eat
  9. press — a publisher
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. last — to go on
  16. tube — a container
  17. chip — for betting
  18. press — to push
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cold — not warm

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