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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rule — a law
  3. field — farmland
  4. rule — government
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — a break

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