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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: stick · wave · bear · capital · content · hand · straw · mine

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — happy
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a city
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wave — of the sea

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