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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: hide · ball · cap · net · race · capital · kick · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — for catching
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — money
  8. race — a contest
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cap — a hat
  16. kick — in football
  17. net — after costs
  18. race — humankind
  19. cap — of ice
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rule — a law
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cap — a lid
  24. net — in sport

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