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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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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: shower · chip · ruler · calf · capital · object · club · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. object — to protest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. object — a thing
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — for dancing
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. object — an aim
  12. club — a group
  13. capital — a city
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chip — to eat
  17. club — for golf
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. capital — money
  23. chip — for betting
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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