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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: land · capital · lean · cell · saw · rule · racket · mark

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lean — thin
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rule — a law
  11. land — to come down
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mark — a grade
  14. capital — money
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — a country
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — to bend
  21. rule — government
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — in biology

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