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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: arm · rule · pitcher · capital · cold · prune · court · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. rule — a law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a city
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rule — government
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. capital — a big letter

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