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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 120 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: pitcher · capital · race · ruler · leaves · mate · fall · tube

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. tube — a container
  4. fall — to drop
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. fall — the season
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. capital — money
  24. fall — to drop

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