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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 116 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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468
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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cold — not warm
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. field — farmland
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. field — a subject
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — for sport
  13. kick — in football
  14. craft — boats
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mark — a trace
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mark — a grade

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