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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. wax — to grow
  5. field — farmland
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. field — a subject
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. vault — a safe
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. field — for sport
  22. row — to paddle
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. leaves — of a tree

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