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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: pitch · wound · fan · rash · land · ruler · wake · last

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — finally
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — a series
  15. last — final
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — a country
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. land — to come down
  24. wake — a trail

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