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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: capital · rule · swing · tube · coach · perch · wake · ruler

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — to play on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wake — a trail
  6. capital — a city
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — in golf
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rule — a law
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. swing — music
  21. rule — government
  22. capital — money
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. perch — the fish

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