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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mug — to rob
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — finally
  6. rule — government
  7. game — a match
  8. last — final
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — to go on
  15. mug — a face
  16. drill — a practice
  17. lie — to recline
  18. drill — army training
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mug — a cup
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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