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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. scale — size or range
  18. race — a contest
  19. scale — in music
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. wax — to grow
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. pit — a hole

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