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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · ruler · tear · mate · wind · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — for sport
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — finally
  11. field — a subject
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mate — a partner
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — farmland

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