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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. board — a committee
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. deal — to handle
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. board — to get on
  19. kid — child
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. capital — money
  24. cabinet — ministers

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