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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 116 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: branch · ground · wind · net · capital · mark · spring · rule

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. capital — money
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a trace
  4. net — for catching
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rule — government
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a city
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. branch — a division
  18. net — after costs
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spring — the season
  21. rule — a law
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. net — in sport
  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