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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. field — for sport
  3. object — to protest
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — farmland
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rule — a law
  8. spell — magic
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. object — an aim
  12. lean — thin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kid — child
  15. mate — a partner
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. swing — music
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. spell — letters
  22. object — a thing
  23. field — a subject
  24. swing — to play on

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