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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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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: capital · nail · cold · ruler · pop · arm · plane · band

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pop — to visit
  14. capital — a city
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — music
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. band — a music group
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. plane — a 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