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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — government
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. staff — employees
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — for sport
  14. wake — a trail
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — a law
  24. ruler — a monarch

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