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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
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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: cold · net · race · ruler · game · bound · jam · field

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. net — after costs
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — obliged
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a match
  11. net — for catching
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — a contest
  15. field — farmland
  16. net — in sport
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bound — certain
  19. race — humankind
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. field — a subject
  24. race — the arms race

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