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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pop — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. firm — decided
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pop — to visit
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. firm — a company
  21. pop — soda
  22. firm — steady
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hand — part of the body

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