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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: clip · capital · staff · hide · object · cold · leaves · mate

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. object — to protest
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. staff — a stick
  14. clip — a video
  15. capital — a city
  16. staff — employees
  17. object — a thing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mate — a partner
  24. object — an aim

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