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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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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 · row · tear · squash · can · ruler · kick

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. can — a tin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kick — in football
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. tear — from crying
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — a line
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — money
  24. ruler — for measuring

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