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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ruler · sharp · land · field · last · date · spring · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. last — final
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spring — the season
  6. rush — hurry
  7. last — finally
  8. field — farmland
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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