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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. field — farmland
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. foot — a measure
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — for sport
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. roll — a cake
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. plane — a tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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