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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: lean · stick · roll · race · rule · spring · capital · pitcher

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — money
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rule — a law
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — of water
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. capital — a city
  16. roll — a list
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. rule — government
  22. lean — thin
  23. race — a contest
  24. roll — a cake

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