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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bank — for money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bank — for money
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spring — the season
  24. prune — to trim

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