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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — in sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rule — government
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rule — a law
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — music
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. face — to confront
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pop — soda
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. net — after costs

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