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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bound — certain
  4. last — finally
  5. rule — government
  6. last — final
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. last — to go on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. field — a subject
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — in music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spell — magic
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rule — a law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — for weighing

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