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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. charge — a price
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. field — farmland
  6. charge — electricity
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — of the year
  9. lean — thin
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. board — a committee
  15. lean — to bend
  16. season — in sport
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. tear — to rip
  20. board — to get on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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