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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lean — to bend
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fall — to drop
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lean — thin
  10. dip — to sink
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to click
  19. fall — the season
  20. content — happy
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. lean — to rest against

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