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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 · last · bay · rush · cap · kid · bark · straw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — money
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a city
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cap — of ice

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