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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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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spring — of water
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a city
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — a practice
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. capital — money
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. drill — the tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rule — government
  22. spring — a coil
  23. drill — army training
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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