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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rule — government
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. can — a tin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. scale — in music
  14. shower — rain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — a city
  18. can — to be able to
  19. scale — size or range
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rule — a law
  22. can — a tin
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rule — to rule out

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