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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. lean — to bend
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spring — a coil

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