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

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — money
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — of water
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — steady
  7. capital — a city
  8. spring — a coil
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. tear — to rip
  14. spring — the season
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. capital — a big letter

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