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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: mug · rule · bowl · trunk · capital · wind

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mug — a face
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. capital — money
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob

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