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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. capital — a city
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. scale — size or range
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — in music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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