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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 116 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: squash · face · hand · pop · pit · straw · capital · scale

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. face — to point toward
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. scale — in music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. face — to confront
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. capital — money
  15. hand — help
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hand — in cards
  18. face — part of the head
  19. squash — to crush
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. capital — a city
  22. pop — soda
  23. squash — the sport
  24. scale — size or range

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