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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — a subject
  9. face — to point toward
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — of water
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rule — government
  16. field — farmland
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — to confront
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mouse — for a computer

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