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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 120 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: chest · ruler · shower · lean · bulb · trunk · club · capital

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lean — thin
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. club — a group
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lean — to bend
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. capital — money
  19. chest — a box
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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