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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — ground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — a law
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bank — for money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. scale — in music
  17. rule — government
  18. wind — to turn a key

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