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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. rule — government
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. land — a country
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. land — ground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. capital — a city
  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