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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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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: pitcher · rush · pop · object · race · capital · rule · trunk

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rule — government
  4. pop — soda
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pop — music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — humankind
  11. object — a thing
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rule — a law
  17. pop — to visit
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. object — an aim
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. object — to protest
  22. rush — hurry
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of a tree

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