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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · staff · rule · scale · current · snap · racket · land

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. current — happening now
  5. staff — employees
  6. rule — a law
  7. current — electric
  8. rule — government
  9. capital — money
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. staff — a stick
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. scale — in music
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. current — of water
  17. land — a country
  18. snap — to click
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. land — ground
  23. staff — employees
  24. land — to come down

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