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

Word bank: kid · roll · capital · stand · ruler · snap

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a city
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. snap — to click
  14. capital — money
  15. roll — a list
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch

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