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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rule — a law
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bound — certain
  5. rash — hasty
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. mug — a cup
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rule — government
  13. field — farmland
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bound — tied together
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — a subject
  21. bound — obliged
  22. field — for sport
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rule — to rule 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