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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: capital · chair · deal · straw · bound · lash · file · pitcher

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. deal — an agreement

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