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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 · wind · cap · roll · date · ruler

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cap — a lid
  6. roll — a list
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. capital — money
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — the fruit
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. capital — a city

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