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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: capital · bat · straw · roll · pound · kick · hide · spring

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. capital — money
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pound — a weight
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. kick — in football
  23. roll — a cake
  24. hide — animal skin

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