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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: drill · fall · plane · wave · field · rule · present · racket

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — a subject
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. present — a gift
  10. plane — a tool
  11. fall — the season
  12. field — farmland
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — for sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. present — there
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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