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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. branch — a division
  3. rush — hurry
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — money
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. capital — a city
  9. kick — in football
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — a law
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rule — government
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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