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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bank — of a river
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a city
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fall — the season
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — the sport
  16. key — for a lock
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bank — for money
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — to drop

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