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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. field — farmland
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. field — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — a subject
  8. net — in sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. net — for catching
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tube — a container
  14. rule — government
  15. lie — to recline
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. net — after costs
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. drill — a practice
  21. tube — the underground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. drill — the tool
  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