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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — magic
  5. file — a tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. file — a line of people
  10. snap — to click
  11. file — a document
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. club — a group
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spell — letters
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. club — for golf

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