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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. march — the month
  9. field — a subject
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. capital — a city
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — for sport
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a match
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rule — government
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rule — a law

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