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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wax — to grow
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — a lid
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cap — of ice
  16. field — a subject
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cap — a hat
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — to cut
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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