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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — government
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — a law
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. row — to paddle
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. drill — army training
  23. board — to get on
  24. trunk — of a car

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