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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fine — all right
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — for sport
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fine — high quality
  8. lean — to bend
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — a break
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — a subject
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — farmland

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