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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: wound · rock · cap · wave · capital · land · rule · row

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. land — to come down
  5. rule — government
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cap — a lid
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cap — a hat
  15. capital — a city
  16. rule — a law
  17. rock — a stone
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — money
  24. rule — to rule out

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