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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. field — a subject
  4. spell — letters
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. object — an aim
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. rule — a law
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rule — government
  24. temple — a place of worship

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