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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. capital — money
  3. land — ground
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. land — a country
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — to come down
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. deal — to handle
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. object — an aim
  17. content — the amount
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. object — to protest
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. capital — a city
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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