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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 124 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — for sport
  3. rule — government
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rule — a law
  7. kid — child
  8. row — to paddle
  9. deal — to handle
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. row — a line
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bass — the fish
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rule — to rule out

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