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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hand — help
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. saw — the tool
  8. present — there
  9. roll — a cake
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — in cards
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. saw — the tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. present — a gift
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. roll — a list
  24. present — the time now

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