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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. roll — a list
  3. rule — government
  4. cap — a hat
  5. roll — a cake
  6. cap — of ice
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rule — a law
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — farmland
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — for sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. net — after costs

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