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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. board — a committee
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. drill — army training
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rule — government
  11. field — farmland
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — for sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. field — a subject
  22. spring — of water
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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