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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — final
  4. net — after costs
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — to go on
  7. court — for sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. court — of law
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. net — in sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. saw — the tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — a stick
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  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