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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. charge — a price
  20. stock — goods
  21. band — a music group
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a ring
  24. charge — in control

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