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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. present — a gift
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mug — a face
  9. tear — to rip
  10. face — part of the head
  11. present — there
  12. capital — money
  13. rule — government
  14. field — a subject
  15. mug — a cup
  16. present — the time now
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a list
  19. mug — to rob
  20. face — to point toward
  21. roll — a cake
  22. face — to confront
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — farmland

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