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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. season — of the year
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — ground
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. season — in sport
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — farmland
  13. last — final
  14. field — a subject
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. last — finally
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wax — to grow
  19. land — a country
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — to go on

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