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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bound — obliged
  5. can — a tin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. can — a tin
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rash — a series
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bound — certain
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ground — a position
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ground — crushed

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