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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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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: mouse · ruler · march · capital · trunk · cold · bat · last

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — finally
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. capital — money
  21. last — final
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — an illness

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