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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: rule · wind · arm · mine · last · hand · wave · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. field — farmland
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — finally
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — government
  22. last — final
  23. hand — in cards
  24. arm — part of the body

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