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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: ruler · rule · leaves · capital · squash · tube · cold · trunk

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — the underground
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rule — government
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tube — a container
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — a law
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. leaves — to go away

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