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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: wind · court · capital · rash · last · ruler · deal · present

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. present — the time now
  3. last — final
  4. present — a gift
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — finally
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. court — for sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. last — to go on
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. deal — to handle
  21. present — there
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wind — moving air

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