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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. rule — government
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — for digging
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rule — a law
  15. bound — obliged
  16. object — an aim
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bound — tied together
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. object — a thing
  23. degree — from a university
  24. object — to protest

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