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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pitch — completely
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — an illness
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. ground — crushed
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ground — the earth
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — a straw man

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