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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — finally
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. swing — music
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. last — final
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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