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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 124 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: straw · land · pitch · swing · nail · capital · mouse · perch

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — ground
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. land — a country
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — to come down
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. pitch — completely
  19. swing — to play on
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. 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