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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — a city
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rule — a law
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rule — government
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bound — obliged
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — of a plant
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. capital — money

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