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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. season — of the year
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rash — hasty
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — government
  11. field — farmland
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mate — a friend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. field — for sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. mate — to breed
  21. game — a match
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. face — to confront

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