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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — the fish
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. field — for sport
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. mate — to breed
  24. field — farmland

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