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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bank — for money
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. drill — army training
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — a practice
  9. capital — a city
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bank — of a river
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — help
  24. capital — money

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