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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ruler · wind · branch · march · land · capital · rush · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. land — a country
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — a lid
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. march — music
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — a division
  21. cap — of ice
  22. land — to come down
  23. rush — hurry
  24. branch — of a bank

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