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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pass — a permit
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — help
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. capital — a city

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