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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.

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 · rush · hand · stock · capital · mouse · toast · rule

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — a law
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stock — goods
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rule — government
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wind — to turn a key

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