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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. land — a country
  3. saw — the tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — government
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — a law
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — ground
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — in music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. field — farmland
  20. drill — the tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — to recline
  24. drill — army training

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