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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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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: game · coach · rule · drill · field · wound · current · cap

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. field — farmland
  3. cap — of ice
  4. current — of water
  5. cap — a hat
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rule — government
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — for sport
  13. drill — army training
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. drill — the tool
  17. current — electric
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rule — a law
  21. field — a subject
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. game — a match

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