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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — from a university
  4. can — a tin
  5. wax — to grow
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. can — to be able to
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rush — hurry
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — in sport
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. prune — to trim

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