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

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rock — music
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. squash — to crush
  12. net — in sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. net — for catching
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — farmland
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — an illness

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