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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: rule · spell · row · land · wave · court · stock · field

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. field — farmland
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — goods
  5. court — for sport
  6. land — ground
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — a law
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spell — magic
  12. rule — government
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. land — a country
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. field — for sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. row — a line
  19. field — a subject
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spell — a short time
  22. land — to come down
  23. stock — shares
  24. wave — with your hand

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