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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. rule — a law
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. court — of a king
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — for sport
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. fall — the season
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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