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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. field — a subject
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — farmland
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — magic
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. last — final
  10. field — for sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. last — to go on
  18. rule — government
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — finally

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