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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. saw — the tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bear — the animal
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fine — all right
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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