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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — to go on
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — final
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rule — government
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — finally

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