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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · straw · rash · tear · stick · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rash — a series
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chest — a box
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. capital — money
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. capital — a city

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