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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. last — finally
  5. bank — for money
  6. last — final
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — a city
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. content — happy

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