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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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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: ruler · row · wind · capital · current · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. capital — a city
  5. current — of water
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — electric
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. row — to paddle
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — happening now
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — a big letter

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