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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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. track — a song
  9. press — newspapers
  10. drill — a practice
  11. spring — a coil
  12. press — a publisher
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — of water
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. wax — to grow
  18. press — to push
  19. track — a path
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. drill — army training
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rule — government

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