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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. 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. cold — an illness
  2. field — a subject
  3. suit — to fit
  4. spell — a short time
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spell — letters
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rule — a law
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — for sport
  14. rule — government
  15. spell — magic
  16. deal — to handle
  17. present — a gift
  18. capital — money
  19. present — the time now
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a city
  22. present — there
  23. field — farmland
  24. 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