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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. lean — thin
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. clip — to cut
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — a video
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rule — a law

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