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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. kid — child
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mug — a cup
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kid — to tease
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mug — a face
  20. capital — a city
  21. mate — a friend
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mate — a partner

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