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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rush — hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. net — for catching
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. pit — in a race
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bank — of a river
  12. field — farmland
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — money
  22. bank — for money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pit — a hole

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