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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 116 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: key · rule · capital · stand · shower · file · cell · hand

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — money
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. key — in music
  11. shower — rain
  12. rule — a law
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a document
  15. rule — government
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stand — to bear
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — in biology

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