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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. last — final
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. last — to go on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. season — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pop — soda
  24. bear — the animal

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