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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — a match
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. rash — hasty
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rash — a series
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — a monarch

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