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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: staff · net · file · capital · rule · date · snap · drill

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — for catching
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — army training
  6. file — a document
  7. rule — government
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. net — after costs
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. capital — money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. staff — employees
  15. date — the fruit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. snap — to click
  18. net — in sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. file — a tool
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. drill — a practice
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — a big letter

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