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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: straw · prune · spell · club · capital · hide · row · pitcher

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. row — to paddle
  5. spell — magic
  6. row — a line
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for dancing
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. club — for golf

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