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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. 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. capital — a city
  2. suit — clothes
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kid — to tease
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. scale — size or range
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cue — a hint
  12. scale — in music
  13. face — to confront
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. suit — in cards
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — to point toward
  19. capital — money
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cue — a signal
  24. 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