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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. lean — thin
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — for sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to bend
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rule — government
  23. field — a subject
  24. lean — to rest against

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