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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rule — a law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wake — a trail
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. track — to keep track
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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