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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — money
  5. ground — a position
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stem — to come from
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rule — government
  18. rest — what's left
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — crushed
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. date — on the calendar

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