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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 120 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — government
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. field — for sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rule — a law
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — a subject
  12. staff — employees
  13. lie — to recline
  14. capital — money
  15. field — farmland
  16. staff — a stick
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. last — final
  22. march — music
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. last — finally

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