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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — for sport
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — an amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — to go on
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — final
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. lean — thin
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. suit — to fit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. last — finally
  24. suit — clothes

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