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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — to wash
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bound — tied together
  15. capital — a city
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — to come down
  18. staff — employees
  19. capital — money
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — a country
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rule — a law

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