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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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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: straw · hide · cabinet · tear · dip · capital · mouse · leaves

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tear — to rip
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — money
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. capital — a city
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. straw — a straw man

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