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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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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: march · capital · kick · object · ruler · straw · court · fall

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. object — an aim
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. capital — money
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. object — a thing
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. court — of a king
  14. kick — in football
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. march — the month
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. object — to protest
  24. kick — with a leg

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