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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. field — farmland
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. ground — a position
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rule — a law
  10. land — ground
  11. chip — to eat
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. land — a country
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. rule — government
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ground — the earth
  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