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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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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: rule · present · lie · net · wind · jam · capital · band

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. band — a music group
  9. lie — to recline
  10. net — after costs
  11. rule — a law
  12. present — a gift
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — in sport
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. band — a ring
  19. present — there
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rule — government
  22. wind — moving air
  23. present — the time now
  24. capital — a big letter

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