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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
468
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: ruler · rest · bound · last · hand · capital · cap · field

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — money
  13. field — a subject
  14. bound — certain
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bound — tied together
  22. hand — help
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cap — a lid

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