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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 · track · capital · date · trunk · court · bulb · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. spell — a short time
  5. capital — money
  6. date — the fruit
  7. track — a song
  8. spell — magic
  9. court — of a king
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bulb — for light
  13. capital — a city
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. track — to keep track
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of a tree

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