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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. can — to be able to
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. can — a tin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. game — wild animals
  22. can — a tin
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — a hole

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