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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. rule — government
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. field — for sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. present — a gift
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — a subject
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. present — there
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. present — the time now
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. field — farmland
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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