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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 120 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: rush · game · track · last · stock · field · lash · ruler

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — farmland
  6. track — a song
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stock — shares
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. track — a path
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stock — goods
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. last — final
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. field — a subject
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. game — a match
  22. field — for sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. lash — an eyelash

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