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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. capital — a city
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — money
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rule — a law
  12. clip — a video
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. lie — to recline
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ground — a position
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — to cut

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