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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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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: deal · ruler · march · fine · rest · date · field · squash

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rest — what's left
  6. deal — to handle
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rest — what's left
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. march — the month
  12. field — a subject
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rest — a break
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. date — the fruit
  24. field — for sport

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