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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rock — a stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — clever
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — of water
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. capital — money
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. row — a line
  17. rock — music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. capital — a city
  24. row — a quarrel

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