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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. suit — to fit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — money
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. chest — a box
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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