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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — for catching
  3. track — a song
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. spell — letters
  15. field — farmland
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. net — after costs
  19. spell — magic
  20. rash — hasty
  21. net — in sport
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — a path
  24. date — the fruit

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