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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. game — wild animals
  3. field — for sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. last — to go on
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. craft — a skill
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — a law
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. last — finally
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. craft — boats
  21. last — final
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rule — government
  24. snap — to click

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