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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: bear · capital · straw · jam · lash · ruler · march · tube

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bear — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. march — the month

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