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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. capital — money
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. capital — a city
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hand — help
  10. roll — a list
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. track — a song
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. track — to keep track
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cell — a phone
  24. track — a path

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