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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. spring — the season
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — of water
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. file — a document
  12. cue — a signal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cue — for pool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rush — hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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