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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · kid · cell · capital · land · bowl

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. land — a country
  6. kid — child
  7. rule — a law
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. land — ground
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — to come down
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a city

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