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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 120 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wax — to grow
  3. drill — army training
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. drill — a practice
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to click
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — wild animals
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — a match
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. branch — a division
  23. drill — the tool
  24. game — a kind of play

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