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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: straw · bat · pop · lean · racket · capital · cap · rule

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pop — soda
  6. capital — a city
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lean — to bend
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. lean — thin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pop — music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rule — a law
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pop — to visit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rule — government
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — the animal

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