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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rule — government
  24. bat — for baseball

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