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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. field — farmland
  3. pop — soda
  4. spell — magic
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pop — music
  7. track — a song
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — government
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — for sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. rule — a law
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pop — to visit
  20. track — a path
  21. spell — letters
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — a subject

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