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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: mine · ruler · capital · bass · wind · spell · roll · rule

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bass — low music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. roll — a list
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bass — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rule — government
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. roll — a cake

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