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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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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: drill · capital · stem · rule · shower · mate

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rule — a law
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a city
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stem — to come from
  16. drill — army training
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — to breed

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