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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.

Make a worksheet

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: object · leaves · bore · capital · hide · key · straw · cold

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. key — in music
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. object — a thing
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. bore — to drill
  21. capital — money
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. capital — a city

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