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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: race · capital · ruler · fall · stem · row

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — to paddle
  3. capital — a city
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. stem — to come from
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. race — humankind
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — a contest
  18. row — a line

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