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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 120 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: capital · kid · chest · rush · ruler · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. capital — money
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a city

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