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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. file — a document
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kick — in football
  6. game — a match
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tear — to rip
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rule — a law
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of law
  20. chair — a leader
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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