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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rule — government
  3. field — for sport
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. scale — in music
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. craft — boats
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rule — a law
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. field — farmland
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. fall — to drop

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