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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hand — help
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mate — a partner
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — money
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. hand — in cards
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. capital — a city

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