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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fine — all right
  13. fall — to drop
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. snap — to click
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — money
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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