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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. key — in music
  3. rule — a law
  4. season — in sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bound — tied together
  8. row — a line
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. row — to paddle
  11. key — for a lock
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — a city
  20. bound — certain
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. key — the most important part
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. season — of the year

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