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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: club · present · ruler · bulb · chest · capital · bat · dip

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bat — the animal
  3. club — a group
  4. present — there
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. present — a gift
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. dip — to sink
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. club — for golf
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bulb — for light
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — the time now
  23. chest — of your body
  24. dip — to dunk

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