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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — farmland
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — from a university
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — for sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bass — low music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lean — thin
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rule — government
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rule — a law
  21. field — a subject
  22. foot — a measure
  23. degree — an amount
  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