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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wax — to grow
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. current — electric
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. field — for sport
  13. current — of water
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. current — happening now
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bank — of a river
  24. racket — a loud noise

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