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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — a series
  4. capital — money
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rule — a law
  10. pop — to visit
  11. band — a ring
  12. bank — for money
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. band — a music group
  15. bank — of a river
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fall — the season
  20. rash — hasty
  21. capital — a city
  22. pop — soda
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bank — for money

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