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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. capital — money
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rule — a law
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. root — of a plant
  16. season — of the year
  17. kid — child
  18. root — of a word
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rule — government
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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