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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. capital — money
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. game — wild animals
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. toast — bread
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — from crying

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