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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a city
  4. club — a group
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ball — a great time
  10. can — a tin
  11. club — for dancing
  12. sharp — clever
  13. club — for golf
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wind — moving air
  20. capital — money
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. perch — for a bird
  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