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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — the sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — a position
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a line of people
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. plane — a tool
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a document
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. ground — crushed
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — a subject
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ground — the earth
  24. field — farmland

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