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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: capital · rule · ruler · content · pit · bat · rush · stem

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. capital — a city
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rule — government
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. content — happy
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rule — a law
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — a stem cell

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