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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 120 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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — for golf
  7. file — a tool
  8. mark — a trace
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — money
  12. last — finally
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — a city
  21. deal — to handle
  22. file — a document
  23. last — final
  24. rule — government

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