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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tube — a container
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a city
  18. ground — the earth
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ground — a position
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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