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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 · game · lash · hand · spell · track · jam · capital

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spell — letters
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spell — a short time
  5. track — to keep track
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. game — a match
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. capital — money
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — a city
  13. game — wild animals
  14. hand — in cards
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. spell — magic
  17. track — a song
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. track — a path
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. jam — a tight spot

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