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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
468
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: capital · mark · staff · chest · file · net · fan · wind

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mark — a grade
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chest — a box
  9. file — a document
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. net — in sport
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. file — a tool
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — after costs
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chest — of your body
  20. staff — a stick
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. capital — a city
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — for catching

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