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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — farmland
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chip — to eat
  8. land — to come down
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rule — government
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. land — ground
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — the sport
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — a country
  19. field — for sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fall — the season
  23. field — a subject
  24. fall — to drop

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