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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: nail · season · capital · bear · row · straw · present · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. row — to paddle
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. present — a gift
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bear — the animal
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. present — there
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. present — the time now
  23. capital — money
  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