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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: rule · capital · last · land · current · wake · cabinet · prune

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — to go on
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rule — a law
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — a country
  7. last — final
  8. land — to come down
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. current — of water
  11. wake — a trail
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rule — government
  14. current — electric
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. land — ground
  20. current — happening now
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — finally
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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