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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. game — a match
  11. present — there
  12. bound — certain
  13. cold — not warm
  14. present — the time now
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — a city
  17. rule — government
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — money
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — an illness

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