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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 120 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. can — a tin
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. content — the amount
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — money
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. can — a tin

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