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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. present — the time now
  11. craft — boats
  12. race — the arms race
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. race — a contest
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. race — humankind
  23. craft — a skill
  24. wax — in the ear

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