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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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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: bat · ruler · wound · field · lean · wake · race · kid

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. field — a subject
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — for sport
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. field — farmland
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. race — a contest
  23. kid — child
  24. race — humankind

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