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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. ground — the earth
  3. object — a thing
  4. lie — to recline
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ground — a position
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. rule — government
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — a subject
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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