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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · straw · capital · track · cue · land · hide · can

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — to come down
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. capital — money
  5. track — a path
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. can — a tin
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — in golf
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — a hint
  15. can — a tin
  16. track — to keep track
  17. can — to be able to
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. track — a song
  20. cue — for pool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. land — a country

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