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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. court — for sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. present — there
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. court — of a king
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. tube — a container
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — the time now
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. present — a gift
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pound — a weight
  24. court — of law

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