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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: lean · swing · capital · suit · rule · tube · hand · chair

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tube — a container
  4. swing — to play on
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — to fit
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. suit — clothes
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. capital — money
  20. lean — thin
  21. hand — help
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. lean — to bend
  24. chair — to sit on

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