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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — letters
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — of water
  13. rule — government
  14. current — electric
  15. tube — the underground
  16. toast — bread
  17. rule — a law
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. current — happening now
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. tube — a container

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