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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 120 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: prune · mate · hand · charge · straw · capital · kid · firm

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. charge — a price
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. charge — electricity
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. charge — in control
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mate — to breed
  16. firm — decided
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — a partner
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mate — a friend

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