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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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — money
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — a match
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stock — shares
  19. foot — a measure
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — to tease
  23. foot — the bottom
  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