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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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. capital — money
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — child
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mate — to breed
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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