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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 116 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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stock — shares
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. club — a group
  6. game — a match
  7. stock — goods
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rule — a law
  10. capital — money
  11. vault — a safe
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. season — in sport
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. rule — government
  19. capital — a city
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — finally
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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