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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — for digging
  5. present — the time now
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. track — a song
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — farmland
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wax — to grow
  22. ball — a dance
  23. track — a path
  24. present — there

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