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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cue — for pool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cue — a signal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — the fish
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — a box
  16. track — a song
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — money
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. track — to keep track
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. capital — a city
  24. ruler — for measuring

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