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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. drill — army training
  6. fall — to drop
  7. toast — bread
  8. drill — a practice
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chip — to eat
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. rule — government
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fall — the season
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rule — a law
  24. drill — the tool

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