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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: ruler · temple · land · capital · court · pitcher · snap · last

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a city
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. last — finally
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. capital — money
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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