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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. chip — for betting
  3. cell — in biology
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — for sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. chip — to eat
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. field — a subject
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cell — a phone
  23. capital — a city
  24. foot — part of the body

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