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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: rule · spell · ruler · spring · capital · cold · game · object

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a city
  6. object — an aim
  7. spring — of water
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. game — a match
  10. spell — letters
  11. game — wild animals
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spell — a short time
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. rule — government
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. capital — money
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — to rule out

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