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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. field — for sport
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. rest — a break
  7. field — a subject
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rest — what's left
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. deal — to handle
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — magic
  24. game — a match

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