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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 116 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spring — the season
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cap — of ice
  7. track — a song
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. track — a path
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. file — a tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a document
  17. rule — government
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rule — a law

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