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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spell — a short time
  4. row — to paddle
  5. tube — the underground
  6. land — ground
  7. key — for a lock
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. land — to come down
  11. spell — magic
  12. capital — a city
  13. row — a line
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — money
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. key — the most important part
  18. tube — a container
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. spell — letters
  24. key — in music

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