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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — farmland
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. race — a contest
  11. chip — to eat
  12. fine — high quality
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. fine — all right
  15. chip — for betting
  16. sharp — clever
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rule — government
  20. race — the arms race
  21. perch — the fish
  22. field — for sport
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — humankind

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