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

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — for sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — a subject
  7. lie — to recline
  8. root — of a plant
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rule — government
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — not warm
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — the Cold War

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