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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. rule — government
  5. current — happening now
  6. spring — the season
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. suit — to fit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rule — a law
  11. scale — size or range
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spring — of water
  20. scale — in music
  21. field — farmland
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. spring — a coil

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