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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: club · ruler · object · capital · cold · spell · fall · cue

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — a group
  7. spell — letters
  8. object — a thing
  9. capital — money
  10. object — to protest
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fall — the season
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. object — an aim
  24. capital — a city

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