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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. capital — money
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chair — a leader
  8. club — a group
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. capital — a city
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — help
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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