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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. row — a line
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cap — a hat
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. craft — boats
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chair — a leader
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cap — a lid
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cold — an illness

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