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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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 — there
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. wax — to grow
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. can — a tin
  9. land — to come down
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. land — a country
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. can — a tin
  18. present — a gift
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — ground
  21. bear — the animal
  22. present — the time now
  23. bear — to put up with
  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