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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 124 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. key — in music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rush — hurry
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. key — the most important part
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a dance
  24. file — a document

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