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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — the season
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fall — to drop
  8. current — of water
  9. club — a group
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. current — electric
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — not warm
  24. current — happening now

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