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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — music
  3. track — a path
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — farmland
  8. wake — a trail
  9. present — there
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. track — a song
  15. rock — music
  16. track — to keep track
  17. march — the month
  18. rock — a stone
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — the time now
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — a gift
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. patient — a sick person

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