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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rule — government
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rule — a law
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ground — the earth
  14. court — of law
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ground — a position
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. date — the fruit

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