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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. suit — in cards
  3. spell — letters
  4. suit — to fit
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rush — hurry
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rule — a law
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. suit — clothes
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spell — magic
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rule — government
  24. sharp — with an edge

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