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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · lie · cap · cold · coach · fork · bore · wind

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to tire
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lie — to recline
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — an illness
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. fork — a garden tool

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