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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fine — high quality
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. snap — to click
  5. fine — all right
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rule — government
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — hasty
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — a series
  20. game — a match
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. game — wild animals

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