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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — in sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — there
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — the time now
  9. hand — in cards
  10. net — after costs
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — for sport
  14. rash — hasty
  15. present — a gift
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — help
  21. net — for catching
  22. field — farmland
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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