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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — happy
  3. rule — government
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rule — a law
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — the amount
  15. capital — money
  16. race — a contest
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. race — humankind
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. capital — a city
  24. chair — a leader

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