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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 · pop · swing · rule · branch · spell · nail · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spell — magic
  6. swing — to play on
  7. branch — a division
  8. pop — to visit
  9. capital — a city
  10. pop — music
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — soda
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — a law
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. swing — music

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