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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rule — government
  3. fine — high quality
  4. net — in sport
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. field — farmland
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mine — for digging
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. face — to confront
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — for sport

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