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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. current — of water
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — electric
  8. roll — a cake
  9. track — to keep track
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. wax — to grow
  21. field — a subject
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stand — to bear

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