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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — farmland
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. clip — a video
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fork — in a road
  15. season — in sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. lean — thin
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. rule — a law
  22. foot — a measure
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. field — a subject

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