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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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Word bank
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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 · bat · cabinet · sharp · ball · capital · leaves · game

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rule — government
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. capital — a city
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rule — a law

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