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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 120 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: tear · cap · straw · deal · capital · swing · bay · drill

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — army training
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. capital — a city
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cap — a hat
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. deal — to handle
  16. swing — music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cap — a lid

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