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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: toast · ball · wound · rule · rest · capital · trunk · pass

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rule — government
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — a city
  8. toast — bread
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. capital — money
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pass — to spend time

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