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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: staff · date · rule · race · kid · capital · jam · ground

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kid — to tease
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. date — the fruit
  15. staff — a stick
  16. ground — a position
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — government
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. staff — employees
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. staff — employees
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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