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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bound — obliged
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. toast — bread
  9. bound — certain
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — money
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bound — tied together
  20. capital — a city
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. plane — a tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cold — the Cold War

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