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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — a committee
  7. kick — in football
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. board — to get on
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — farmland
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. rule — government
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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