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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — money
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. last — to go on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — a city
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — finally
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. last — final
  24. clip — for paper

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