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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fall — the season
  21. ground — a position
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. game — a match
  24. bowl — a football final

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