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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: spell · rush · rule · cue · capital · field · calf · roll

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — farmland
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. roll — a cake
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — for pool
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. spell — magic
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. spell — letters
  12. rush — hurry
  13. field — for sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. spell — a short time
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. rush — a thrill

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