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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. season — in sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mug — a cup
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mug — a face
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — the tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. season — of the year
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. drill — army training
  23. field — a subject
  24. season — to add flavour

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