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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: rush · charge · capital · rule · cold · wind · staff · face

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — to confront
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. charge — in control
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rush — hurry
  11. charge — electricity
  12. staff — employees
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — money
  16. face — part of the head
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. charge — a price
  20. staff — a stick
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rush — a thrill

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