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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. snap — to click
  3. capital — money
  4. rule — a law
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — hurry
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rule — government
  20. present — there
  21. capital — a city
  22. present — the time now
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. can — a tin

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