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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. charge — a price
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — money
  8. land — a country
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — to come down
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. land — ground
  14. rule — a law
  15. charge — in control
  16. nail — for a hammer
  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