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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stock — shares
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. capital — a city
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. chip — for betting
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chip — to eat
  20. drill — army training
  21. capital — money
  22. stock — goods
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stock — a soup base

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