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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. firm — a company
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. firm — steady
  10. file — a tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — a city
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. kid — child
  21. firm — decided
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mine — belonging to me

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