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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rule — government
  3. field — a subject
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pop — soda
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. net — after costs
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — the season

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