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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cold — an illness
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bound — certain
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — farmland
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — for sport
  21. bound — obliged
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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