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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. track — a path
  3. capital — a city
  4. track — to keep track
  5. court — for sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. snap — to click
  11. track — a song
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. court — of law
  15. board — a committee
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. court — of a king
  22. rock — a stone
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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