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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rule — a law
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rest — a break
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pitch — completely
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rule — government
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rest — what's left

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