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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: capital · rule · land · wind · bank · scale · racket · file

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a tool
  3. rule — government
  4. scale — in music
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. capital — money
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bank — for money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rule — a law
  13. scale — size or range
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. land — to come down
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bank — for money
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a document
  23. land — ground
  24. bank — of a river

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