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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. march — music
  3. season — in sport
  4. pit — in a race
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pit — a hole
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. season — of the year
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rule — government
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. sharp — with an edge

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