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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — to eat
  14. scale — in music
  15. kick — in football
  16. chip — for betting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cold — an illness
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. kick — with a leg

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