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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. sharp — clever
  10. capital — a city
  11. snap — to click
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. drill — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. hand — help
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pit — in a race
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — army training
  23. game — a match
  24. rule — government

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