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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. capital — a city
  9. board — to get on
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — child
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bank — of a river
  18. board — a committee
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. straw — dry grass

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