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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: rock · ruler · field · capital · ball · rash · court · snap

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ball — a great time
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — a subject
  5. rash — a series
  6. field — farmland
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rash — hasty
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — for sport
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rock — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. court — of law
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. court — of a king
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rock — a stone
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — for sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. capital — money

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