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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. row — a line
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. can — to be able to
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mug — a face
  24. straw — a straw man

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