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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 · straw · rash · tear · stick · chest · field · ruler

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — a series
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chest — a box
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. 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