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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: rule · bat · capital · perch · firm · straw · pop · club

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. capital — money
  6. club — for dancing
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. firm — a company
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. club — for golf
  12. pop — to visit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — a group
  15. firm — decided
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — a law
  22. pop — music
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. firm — steady

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