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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: rule · wind · capital · fall · bark · scale

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rule — a law
  8. capital — a city
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. scale — in music
  15. fall — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop

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