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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rest · drill · capital · game · track · scale · march

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rest — what's left
  4. track — a path
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. track — a song
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. track — to keep track
  12. scale — in music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. drill — army training
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — a break
  21. game — a match
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — music
  24. drill — the tool

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