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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. field — farmland
  4. wax — to grow
  5. file — a document
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — for sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fine — all right
  11. field — a subject
  12. march — music
  13. file — a tool
  14. bulb — for light
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a line of people

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