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

Word bank: arm · capital · wind · rule · suit · press

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — in cards
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. press — to push
  11. rule — a law
  12. suit — clothes
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rule — government

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