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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. drill — army training
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. drill — a practice
  8. craft — boats
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. capital — money
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chest — of your body
  23. craft — a skill
  24. wake — before a funeral

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