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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 120 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: capital · rush · face · race · rule · fall · wind · lean

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lean — thin
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — humankind
  5. rule — a law
  6. fall — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rule — government
  11. lean — to bend
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — moving air

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