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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — hurry
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. field — farmland
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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