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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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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 · tube · capital · nail · game · fork · rule · saw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. capital — money
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. tube — the underground
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rule — government
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — a match
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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