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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. field — farmland
  3. present — there
  4. suit — to fit
  5. court — of law
  6. suit — in cards
  7. present — a gift
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — of a king
  10. suit — clothes
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spell — magic
  13. march — music
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. field — for sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — the month

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