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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: straw · capital · mark · leaves · kid · jam · mate · row

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mate — a friend
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kid — to tease
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. row — a line
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mark — a grade
  17. capital — a city
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. straw — a straw man

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