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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: cabinet · capital · wound · straw · last · wave · field · mate

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mate — to breed
  3. last — final
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. last — to go on
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. last — finally
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. capital — money
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — a friend
  24. capital — a city

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