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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. capital — a city
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hand — help
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fall — the season
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mark — a trace
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mark — a grade
  23. can — to be able to
  24. vault — a safe

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