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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — farmland
  3. suit — clothes
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. hand — in cards
  7. suit — in cards
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. field — a subject
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. last — finally
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — to go on
  16. race — a contest
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. suit — to fit
  21. race — humankind
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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