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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — finally
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kid — to tease
  9. craft — boats
  10. field — for sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — to go on
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. face — part of the head
  16. last — final
  17. field — a subject
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. face — to confront
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wax — to grow

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