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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: wind · capital · rule · march · shower · board

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. board — a committee
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. shower — rain
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — a law
  13. board — to get on
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. march — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month

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