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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 116 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: tube · chair · bat · straw · object · ruler · perch · capital

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. tube — a container
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. object — a thing
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. object — to protest
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — a leader
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. object — an aim
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. perch — the fish
  21. capital — a city
  22. tube — the underground
  23. capital — money
  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