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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. firm — decided
  3. rule — government
  4. ball — a dance
  5. firm — steady
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rash — a series
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. firm — a company
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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