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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: wake · rule · suit · ground · wound · spring · field · drill

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. spring — the season
  3. suit — clothes
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. drill — army training
  8. suit — to fit
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — for sport
  14. spring — of water
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — a subject
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. suit — in cards
  23. drill — the tool
  24. spring — a coil

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