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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rule — a law
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. rule — government
  13. game — a match
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wake — a trail
  16. kid — child
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. field — for sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — a subject

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