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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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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: wind · capital · fine · season · chip · rule · mate · rest

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. capital — money
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — to breed
  9. season — in sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rest — a break
  13. fine — high quality
  14. season — of the year
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. rule — government
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wind — moving air
  20. capital — a city
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fine — all right
  24. wind — moving air

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