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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. deal — to handle
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — an illness
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — a coil
  14. face — to point toward
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. face — part of the head
  18. field — farmland
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — to confront
  22. field — for sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wax — in the ear

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