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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · spring · field · fall · capital · deal

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — for sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — a subject
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spring — the season
  8. rule — government
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. fall — the season
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — a city
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — of water

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