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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: field · rock · ruler · chest · sharp · shower · spell · mate

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rock — a stone
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — a subject
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. field — for sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. sharp — clever
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — magic
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — farmland
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spell — letters
  24. sharp — exactly

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