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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. hand — in cards
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pop — music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. capital — a city
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hand — help
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rule — a law

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