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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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Word bank
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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: clip · racket · capital · straw · leaves · stand

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. capital — money
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stand — to bear
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — a city
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. leaves — to go away

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