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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rule — a law
  16. rest — a break
  17. capital — money
  18. staff — employees
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. staff — employees
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wind — moving air

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