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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 124 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. season — of the year
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rule — government
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — in sport
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — wild animals
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. field — farmland
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hide — to keep secret

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