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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kid — child
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — a series
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rule — government
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rule — a law
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — a break
  18. field — farmland
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wave — with your hand

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