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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. capital — a city
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — an injury
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chip — for betting
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a line
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fork — in a road
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wound — an injury

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