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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kid — child
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — to tease
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. capital — a city
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. squash — the vegetable

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