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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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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bound — certain
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bound — obliged
  17. rash — a series
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — for sport

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