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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · march · cap · object · wound · fall · pop · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rule — a law
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. march — the month
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. fall — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — for sport

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