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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 116 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: fall · track · coach · capital · ruler · staff · cold · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — to drop
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. fall — to drop
  8. staff — employees
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. drill — army training
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — an illness
  23. track — a path
  24. fall — the season

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