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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — for digging
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. land — ground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. capital — money
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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