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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — final
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — finally
  12. fine — high quality
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fine — all right
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. field — for sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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