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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: chest · current · ruler · capital · bat · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. current — electric
  5. chest — of your body
  6. current — happening now
  7. capital — a city
  8. chest — a box
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. current — of water

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