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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — music
  3. rule — government
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. march — the month
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pass — a permit
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. game — a match
  15. capital — a city
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — a kind of play

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