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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cue — a signal
  5. capital — money
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cue — a hint
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cue — for pool
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — a city
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lean — thin
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — to turn a key

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