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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 120 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 refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — to keep track
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mug — to rob
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — of the year
  18. mug — a face
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chair — a leader
  24. capital — a big letter

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