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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — letters
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. shower — rain
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wake — a trail
  7. track — to keep track
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. capital — money
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. track — a song
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. charge — in control
  24. capital — a city

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