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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: capital · squash · ruler · board · chair · fall · row · mine

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. board — to get on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fall — the season
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — a city
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fall — to drop
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. chair — to sit on
  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