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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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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: cabinet · fall · prune · pound · ruler · chest · bat · capital

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. capital — a city
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fall — the season
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ruler — for measuring

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