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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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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: rule · capital · cell · roll · arm · bore · fan · pound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. capital — a city
  8. roll — a list
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to drill
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rule — a law
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. capital — money

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