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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — for sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. suit — in cards
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. suit — clothes
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rule — government
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — money
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — a subject
  17. game — a match
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rule — a law
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — a trail
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. suit — to fit
  24. capital — a city

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