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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: cold · straw · pitch · present · object · capital · nail · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. object — an aim
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. object — a thing
  8. capital — a city
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. present — the time now
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pitch — completely
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. object — to protest
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. capital — money
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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