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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — a law
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. spring — of water
  10. fork — in a road
  11. field — a subject
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. field — for sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. root — the cause
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. spring — the season
  24. root — of a word

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