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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. season — in sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. snap — to click
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — a position
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. capital — a city
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. season — of the year
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rule — a law

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