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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. last — final
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — a subject
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — to go on
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. last — finally
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — a contest
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cell — in biology

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