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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 116 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: cue · craft · wind · rule · club · capital

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cue — a hint
  3. capital — money
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rule — government
  6. club — for dancing
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — boats
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. cue — a signal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — a law
  14. club — a group
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cue — for pool
  18. rule — to rule out

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