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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — money
  4. chair — a leader
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — a city
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rule — a law
  24. hand — part of the body

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