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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — money
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — to point toward
  9. capital — a city
  10. rule — a law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — farmland
  14. face — to confront
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tear — to rip
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. face — part of the head
  24. tear — from crying

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