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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rock — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — the season
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rush — hurry
  19. capital — money
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fall — to drop

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