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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — government
  3. can — a tin
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. can — to be able to
  9. capital — a city
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. date — the fruit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rule — a law
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — money
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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