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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. field — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rash — a series
  13. snap — to click
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — a subject
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wound — an injury

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