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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. can — a tin
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. staff — a stick
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. field — farmland
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bat — the animal

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