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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — a short time
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a line of people
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a document
  15. spell — letters
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — magic
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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