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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. object — to protest
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mug — a face
  6. snap — to click
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. chair — a leader
  12. net — in sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — a subject
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. object — a thing
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — farmland
  24. object — an aim

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