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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 120 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: cabinet · ground · shower · field · staff · rule · stand · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rule — government
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. rule — a law
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stand — to bear
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — magic
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. staff — employees
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. staff — employees
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. staff — a stick
  24. ground — a position

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