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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 · tube · season · rash · capital · hide · hand · pitcher

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — in sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — a container
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — a city
  21. season — of the year
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. capital — money

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