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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: leaves · capital · swing · staff · mine · rule · wound · cold

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. staff — employees
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wound — an injury
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — employees
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rule — a law
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. capital — money
  22. cold — not warm
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cold — an illness

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