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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bulb — for light
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — a subject
  10. wake — a trail
  11. key — in music
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. last — finally
  18. drill — army training
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. drill — a practice
  21. field — for sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. last — final
  24. wax — to grow

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