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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wax — to grow
  13. field — a subject
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. drill — army training
  17. ground — crushed
  18. field — farmland
  19. scale — size or range
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — for sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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