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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rule — government
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mate — to breed
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for golf
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bank — for money
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. capital — money
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — part of the body

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