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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rash — a series
  4. present — a gift
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rash — hasty
  7. field — farmland
  8. present — there
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — for sport
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. present — the time now
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — a subject

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