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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. can — a tin
  6. spring — of water
  7. fine — high quality
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. race — the arms race
  12. can — a tin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fine — all right
  17. race — humankind
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. field — for sport
  20. race — a contest
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fine — a penalty

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