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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. present — a gift
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. field — farmland
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — a break
  10. field — a subject
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rule — government
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — for sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. present — there
  20. present — the time now
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fan — to cool the air

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