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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: ruler · game · shower · field · drill · wound · rash · root

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. root — of a word
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rash — a series
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — wild animals
  15. root — of a plant
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. game — a match
  18. field — farmland
  19. root — the cause
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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