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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. field — farmland
  5. last — final
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — finally
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. march — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — to lash out

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