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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. date — the fruit
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fork — in a road
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — a series
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. sharp — with an edge

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