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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 · firm · file · capital · staff · leaves

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — a company
  3. file — a tool
  4. staff — a stick
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. capital — money
  7. firm — decided
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. firm — steady
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. file — a document
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — employees
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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