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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 124 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — government
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. ground — crushed
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. mug — a face
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. field — a subject
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — for sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — moving air

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