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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bound — certain
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bound — tied together
  13. ground — the earth
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ground — a position
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bound — obliged
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. root — the cause

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