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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — money
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. dip — to sink
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. track — to keep track
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — a city
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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