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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: wave · cold · bat · hide · capital · ruler

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. capital — money
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a city
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal

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