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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. field — a subject
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. club — a group
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. field — for sport
  12. object — to protest
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. object — an aim
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. club — for dancing
  24. object — a thing

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