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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stock — goods
  3. rule — a law
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. last — finally
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. stock — shares
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — a division
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. last — final
  15. rule — government
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — to go on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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