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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 · kid · hand · leaves · content · straw · cue

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kid — to tease
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — for golf
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — a city
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. club — a group
  22. hand — in cards
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — happy

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