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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 120 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: field · leaves · bay · coach · cabinet · kid · tear · cap

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cap — of ice
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — to rip
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — child
  20. field — for sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. field — farmland
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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