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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mark — a grade
  4. squash — to crush
  5. capital — money
  6. rule — a law
  7. drill — army training
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. rule — government
  24. march — music

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