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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — in sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. club — a group
  7. last — final
  8. cell — a phone
  9. last — finally
  10. club — for golf
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — farmland
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — for sport
  18. net — for catching

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