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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. net — in sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. net — for catching
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — a subject
  12. craft — boats
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — after costs
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. craft — a skill

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