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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. key — the most important part
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. key — for a lock
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — help
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. key — in music

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