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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — of water
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fall — the season
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — to tire
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. field — for sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wax — to grow
  20. field — a subject
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. rash — a series
  24. spring — a coil

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