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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: ruler · field · cold · stock · rest · hide · ground · chair

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. field — farmland
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stock — goods
  6. field — for sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ground — crushed
  9. field — a subject
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ground — a position
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. rest — a break
  16. ground — the earth
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — shares
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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