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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — to rip
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. bound — certain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bound — tied together
  14. file — a line of people
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — a subject
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bound — obliged

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