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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: cell · date · cold · field · present · saw · roll · ruler

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. field — for sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. saw — the tool
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. date — the fruit
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cell — a phone
  20. present — a gift
  21. roll — a list
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — there
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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