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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stem — to come from
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. capital — a city
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — a stem cell

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