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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: date · last · tear · field · current · race · file · ruler

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. last — to go on
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. current — of water
  9. race — the arms race
  10. file — a line of people
  11. last — final
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. race — humankind
  16. file — a tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. current — electric
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a document

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