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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 120 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: board · spring · rule · court · pit · last · tube · capital

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. court — of law
  3. last — finally
  4. spring — the season
  5. board — a committee
  6. tube — a container
  7. pit — in a race
  8. last — to go on
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — of water
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. pit — a hole
  21. capital — money
  22. last — final
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rule — to rule out

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