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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. scale — size or range
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. current — of water
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rule — government
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. scale — in music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. field — a subject
  20. saw — the tool
  21. current — electric
  22. rule — a law
  23. march — the month
  24. current — happening now

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