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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. last — finally
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tube — the underground
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tube — a container
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — money
  12. branch — a division
  13. rock — music
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. last — final
  18. rock — a stone
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. last — to go on
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — a straw man

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