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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. suit — to fit
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. suit — clothes
  9. pop — music
  10. suit — in cards
  11. rule — a law
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a city
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. season — in sport
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rule — to rule out

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