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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. can — a tin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. can — to be able to
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bass — low music
  15. can — a tin
  16. bass — the fish
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fall — to drop
  23. trunk — of a car
  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