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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: rush · shower · capital · spell · pound · ball · ruler · race

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pound — a weight
  5. race — a contest
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ball — a dance
  8. shower — to wash
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ball — a great time
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. shower — rain
  20. spell — letters
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — magic
  24. capital — a city

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