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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rule · court · drill · root · capital · coach · clip · board

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. capital — a city
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — government
  5. clip — to cut
  6. root — the cause
  7. court — of law
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. drill — army training
  11. root — of a plant
  12. court — for sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — for paper
  17. root — of a word
  18. capital — money
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — the tool
  22. board — a committee
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. drill — a practice

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