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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. march — the month
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stand — to bear
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. branch — a division
  14. spell — magic
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spell — a short time
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. capital — money
  21. rule — a law
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. fan — to cool the air

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