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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. club — for dancing
  3. field — for sport
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stand — to bear
  10. rule — a law
  11. pound — a weight
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — for golf
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mate — a partner
  22. club — a group
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. file — a document

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