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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — a signal
  4. net — for catching
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bore — to drill
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. court — for sport
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. court — of law
  14. stem — to come from
  15. net — in sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — after costs
  20. cue — for pool
  21. court — of a king
  22. bore — to tire
  23. spring — the season
  24. stem — of a plant

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