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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: chip · lie · bat · tear · pitcher · capital · pop · ruler

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chip — to eat
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lie — to recline
  16. capital — money
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — soda
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. capital — a city

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