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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: rule · field · capital · racket · spring · ruler · fall · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. field — a subject
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — farmland
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. spring — of water
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. capital — money
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — for sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. capital — a city
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — the season

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