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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. rule — government
  5. land — a country
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. rule — a law
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — for sport
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. game — wild animals
  17. land — ground
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — humankind
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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