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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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bound — certain
  3. board — a committee
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. field — farmland
  7. rule — a law
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bear — the animal
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a line of people
  14. field — for sport
  15. bound — tied together
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — obliged
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — a country
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bear — the animal
  23. file — a document
  24. rule — government

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