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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 124 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — money
  6. field — for sport
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. foot — a measure
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bound — certain
  13. capital — a city
  14. face — to confront
  15. rule — a law
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chip — for betting
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chip — to eat
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rule — government
  24. bound — obliged

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