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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: hand · rule · game · rash · land · capital · drill · object

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rule — government
  4. rash — a series
  5. rule — a law
  6. object — to protest
  7. rash — hasty
  8. object — a thing
  9. game — a match
  10. capital — money
  11. object — an aim
  12. game — wild animals
  13. capital — a city
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — a country
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. drill — army training
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. land — ground

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