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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. file — a document
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. file — a line of people
  7. season — of the year
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. key — for a lock
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. file — a tool
  14. key — in music
  15. season — in sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. bear — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. capital — a city
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bat — in an idiom

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