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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 · chair · pound · field · coach · plane · lean · capital

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — a subject
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lean — to bend
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chair — a leader
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. capital — a city
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. plane — a tool
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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