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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a music group
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. field — for sport
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — farmland
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cold — an illness

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