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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rule — government
  8. land — to come down
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. fine — all right
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rule — a law
  14. land — ground
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — money
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. capital — a city
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. land — a country

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