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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chip — for betting
  3. field — for sport
  4. spring — of water
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chip — to eat
  7. field — a subject
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — farmland
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — the season
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bore — to tire
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rule — government
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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