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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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 — a law
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. capital — money
  5. vault — a safe
  6. court — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — of law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. court — of a king
  14. snap — to click
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — government
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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