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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rest — what's left
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chip — for betting
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rest — a break
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — a division
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — a city

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