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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: deal · rule · cap · wind · can · pitcher · content · mine

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — a law
  4. can — a tin
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rule — government
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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