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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. land — ground
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bank — for money
  10. land — to come down
  11. lean — thin
  12. chest — a box
  13. land — a country
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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