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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — a city
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — a practice
  9. roll — a cake
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mark — a grade
  14. drill — army training
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. land — ground
  18. roll — a list
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. land — a country
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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