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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spring — the season
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — of water
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rock — music
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — after costs
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. net — in sport
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. net — for catching
  24. nail — for a hammer

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