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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wound — an injury
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. file — a line of people
  6. net — for catching
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wound — an injury
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — money
  12. net — in sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. file — a tool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cap — of ice
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. net — after costs
  21. cap — a lid
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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