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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kick — in football
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rule — government
  8. court — for sport
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. press — to push
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — rain
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. press — newspapers
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. press — a publisher
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. court — of 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