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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. press — a publisher
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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