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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. march — music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. march — the month
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — the month
  13. field — farmland
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spell — magic
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fork — in a road
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — a subject
  23. spell — letters
  24. trunk — of a tree

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