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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: stem · file · ruler · capital · mouse · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. capital — a city
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. file — a line of people

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