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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. press — a publisher
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — an illness
  8. staff — employees
  9. press — to push
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — money
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — a skill
  16. press — newspapers
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. staff — a stick
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. capital — a city
  23. rule — a law
  24. dip — a sauce

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