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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. 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. cold — an illness
  2. face — to point toward
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mate — to breed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. craft — boats
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wax — to grow
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mate — a friend
  22. face — to confront
  23. mate — a partner
  24. 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