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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
468
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: sharp · bear · last · chest · squash · ruler · march · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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. field — farmland
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bear — the animal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — for sport
  18. march — music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. march — the month
  22. last — finally
  23. chest — a box
  24. squash — to crush

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