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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. suit — to fit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rule — a law
  5. pound — a weight
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bat — the animal
  13. suit — in cards
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. suit — clothes
  17. capital — money
  18. rule — government
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a city
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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