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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bore — to tire
  8. stock — goods
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. stock — shares
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — music
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bore — to drill
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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