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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — final
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — for sport
  11. last — finally
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. field — a subject
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ruler — a monarch

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