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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. club — a group
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — finally
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rule — government
  14. capital — money
  15. last — final
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for golf
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. field — for sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — shares
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — farmland

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