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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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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: straw · capital · net · deal · lean · kid · fan · hide

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. net — after costs
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — in sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. net — for catching
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. deal — to handle
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — child
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. deal — a big deal

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