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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: spring · snap · rule · capital · calf · straw · shower · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. snap — to click
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rule — a law
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — the season
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spring — of water
  15. row — a line
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — money
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — a coil
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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