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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. toast — bread
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. pound — a weight
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. spring — of water
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. band — a music group
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spring — the season

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