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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 116 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: wake · capital · wind · rule · bear · bore

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rule — a law
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to tire
  15. rule — government
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wake — a trail

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