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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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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. firm — decided
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. firm — a company
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. field — farmland
  12. club — a group
  13. field — a subject
  14. club — for golf
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. club — for dancing
  17. firm — steady
  18. field — for sport

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