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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pop — music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — a city
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rule — a law

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