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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: arm · rule · dip · spring · field · pass · racket · last

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — finally
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — a subject
  7. last — final
  8. rule — government
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. spring — of water
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. field — farmland
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. dip — to sink

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