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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bound — certain
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bound — tied together
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. staff — employees
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rule — a law
  24. field — for sport

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