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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rest — a break
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. rule — government
  5. capital — a city
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — money
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rash — a series
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — a law
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a big letter

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