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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: mug · last · bay · capital · content · straw · hide · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — happy
  3. lean — thin
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. last — to go on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. capital — money
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — the amount
  23. last — final
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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