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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: wind · capital · chip · rule · net · staff

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. net — after costs
  7. staff — employees
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rule — a law
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. net — for catching
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chip — to eat
  18. staff — employees

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