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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: wave · object · staff · capital · spring · straw · game · fine

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. staff — a stick
  4. object — an aim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. fine — all right
  8. capital — a city
  9. object — a thing
  10. fine — high quality
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. staff — employees
  14. object — to protest
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — a coil
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — of water
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spring — the season
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — wild animals

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