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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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468
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: file · lash · straw · chair · racket · bat · capital · bulb

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bulb — for light
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — money
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lash — to lash out

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