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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · hide · capital · scale · wound · straw · spring · staff

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — the season
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spring — of water
  7. staff — employees
  8. capital — a city
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. scale — in music
  12. staff — employees
  13. capital — money
  14. club — a group
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. scale — size or range
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. club — for golf
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. staff — a stick
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wound — an injury

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