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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 120 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: capital · rush · cap · court · ruler · content · race · bass

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. court — for sport
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. content — happy
  6. cap — a lid
  7. content — the amount
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. capital — money
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — of law
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bass — low music
  21. court — of a king
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — a hat

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