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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rule — government
  3. pass — a permit
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rule — a law
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kick — in football
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rash — a series
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. chair — to sit on

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