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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · capital · spring · tear · scale · arm · coach · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. land — ground
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rule — government
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. land — a country
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. land — to come down
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — size or range
  23. capital — a city
  24. arm — part of the body

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