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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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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 water is too ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rule — government
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — the most important part
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. key — for a lock
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. chip — for betting
  20. key — in music
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — an illness
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — the Cold War

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