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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. track — a song
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — finally
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — to get on
  17. last — final
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — of water
  20. last — to go on
  21. rule — a law
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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