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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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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: race · kid · capital · present · field · rush · ruler · leaves

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. capital — money
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — to tease
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. field — a subject
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. race — a contest
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kid — child
  24. field — farmland

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