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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. staff — a stick
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — all right
  5. root — the cause
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — a law
  8. last — final
  9. fine — high quality
  10. last — finally
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rule — government
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. capital — money
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. craft — boats
  20. last — to go on
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. staff — employees
  24. deal — to handle

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