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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 an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. charge — in control
  3. track — a song
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — government
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a lid
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cap — of ice
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — a price
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. cap — a hat

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