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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — from a university
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rule — a law
  20. capital — money
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. capital — a city
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. game — wild animals

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