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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — of a word
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — a city
  6. mate — a partner
  7. perch — the fish
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. fine — all right
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — government
  12. mate — to breed
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. root — of a plant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — ground
  18. fine — high quality
  19. land — to come down
  20. vault — a safe
  21. rule — a law
  22. root — the cause
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — money

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