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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — a city
  6. ground — a position
  7. clip — a video
  8. mug — a face
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — money
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ground — crushed

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