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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — the season
  7. club — for golf
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. roll — a list
  11. field — for sport
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. mate — to breed
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. roll — a cake
  21. spring — of water
  22. spell — magic
  23. club — a group
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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