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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 · safe · tear · toast · pop · capital · cue · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pop — music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spell — magic
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — money
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. cue — for pool
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pop — soda
  21. spell — a short time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cue — a signal
  24. safe — out of danger

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