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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: last · land · snap · cap · scale · club · rule · pit

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pit — a hole
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. club — for golf
  6. cap — of ice
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. last — final
  11. club — for dancing
  12. last — finally
  13. pit — in a race
  14. land — to come down
  15. scale — size or range
  16. last — to go on
  17. cap — a hat
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to click
  20. cap — a lid
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — a country
  23. rule — government
  24. scale — in music

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