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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: mark · fine · sharp · leaves · game · shower · ruler · field

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. game — wild animals
  4. shower — to wash
  5. field — a subject
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fine — all right
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. field — farmland
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — for sport
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a match
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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