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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: chair · kid · lean · drill · cue · rule · capital · pound

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. capital — money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cue — for pool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rule — government
  18. capital — a city
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. drill — army training
  22. rule — a law
  23. cue — a hint
  24. drill — the tool

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