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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bulb — for light
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. last — finally
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. last — final
  21. capital — a city
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — to go on
  24. bound — obliged

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