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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. season — of the year
  3. rule — government
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a music group
  8. rest — what's left
  9. march — the month
  10. season — in sport
  11. band — a ring
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — a law
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rest — a break
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. field — farmland
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — music

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