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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rule — a law
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. current — electric
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. current — happening now
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fork — in a road
  17. field — a subject
  18. current — of water
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. field — farmland
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — hurry
  24. field — for sport

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