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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pound — a weight
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. face — to confront
  6. vault — a safe
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — for sport
  14. face — part of the head
  15. field — a subject
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. face — to point toward
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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