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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: cold · capital · press · wake · scale · ruler · mate · trunk

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. capital — a city
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. capital — money
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mate — a friend
  19. scale — size or range
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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