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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: rush · capital · ball · game · cold · ruler

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. rush — hurry
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a match
  7. capital — money
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ball — a dance
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ruler — a monarch

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