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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. cue — a signal
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — wild animals
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. game — a match
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. prune — to trim
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. date — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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