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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cell — in biology
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — farmland
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wax — to grow
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. march — music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. staff — employees
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bass — the fish
  21. staff — employees
  22. pass — a permit
  23. field — for sport
  24. bound — certain

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