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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: capital · club · straw · cell · face · ball · rest · firm

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. firm — a company
  3. capital — money
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. club — for golf
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rest — a break
  11. firm — steady
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. firm — decided
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. capital — a city
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. face — to point toward

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