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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — money
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — not warm
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lean — thin
  8. capital — a city
  9. mug — a face
  10. drill — army training
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mug — a cup
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mug — to rob
  16. drill — a practice
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. drill — the tool
  21. lean — to bend
  22. game — a match
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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