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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: kick · cabinet · hand · straw · capital · wound · stick · pitch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — help
  3. kick — in football
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pitch — completely
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. capital — money
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. hand — in cards

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