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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cold — not warm
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. club — a group
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. kid — to tease
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. kid — child
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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