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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: ruler · kid · chip · dip · straw · object · capital · wax

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. kid — child
  6. object — to protest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. object — a thing
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. object — an aim
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wax — to grow
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. chip — for betting

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