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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.

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: drill · straw · rule · field · hide · rash · net · mate

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rule — a law
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. net — for catching
  5. rule — government
  6. mate — a partner
  7. field — for sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. drill — army training
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. field — farmland
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rash — a series
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. net — after costs
  24. rash — on the skin

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