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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mug — a cup
  9. ground — the earth
  10. capital — money
  11. ground — a position
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mug — a face
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. pop — music
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cell — a phone
  24. plane — a tool

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