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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rule — a law
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to click
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spell — magic
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. capital — a city
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. game — a match
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. lean — thin
  24. temple — a place of worship

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