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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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 — in the ear
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — farmland
  10. court — of a king
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. net — after costs
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. net — in sport
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — for sport
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cold — an illness
  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