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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cue — a hint
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. last — final
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to confront
  7. cue — a signal
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — for sport
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. spell — letters
  13. last — finally
  14. pound — a weight
  15. hand — help
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. field — farmland
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cue — for pool

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