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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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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: bat · net · ruler · mine · swing · capital · wake · cue

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. net — for catching
  3. cue — a hint
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — after costs
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. net — in sport
  11. cue — a signal
  12. swing — music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — a city
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. capital — money
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mine — belonging to me

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