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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: march · toast · capital · plane · rule · cell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. toast — bread
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. cell — a phone
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. march — music
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. capital — a city
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in biology
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. march — the month

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