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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: court · capital · cap · last · stick · rule · nail · plane

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — of law
  4. rule — a law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rule — government
  13. last — finally
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — final
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — for sport
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cap — a lid
  23. plane — a tool
  24. court — of a king

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