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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: fan · ruler · wound · squash · field · game · rash · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. game — a match
  12. field — farmland
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — a subject
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chair — a leader

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