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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 120 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: snap · object · pitcher · spring · chair · hide · straw · capital

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. object — to protest
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — money
  9. snap — to click
  10. chair — a leader
  11. object — an aim
  12. capital — a city
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. spring — a coil
  17. object — a thing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chair — a professorship

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