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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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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: ground · branch · rule · game · suit · chair · capital · band

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. capital — a city
  5. game — wild animals
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — a match
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. branch — a division
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. suit — in cards
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. suit — to fit
  15. ground — the earth
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — a position
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. band — a music group
  23. suit — clothes
  24. rule — a law

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