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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. capital — money
  8. fine — all right
  9. kid — child
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — to come down
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. capital — a city
  18. land — a country
  19. present — a gift
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — ground

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