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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — for sport
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rock — music
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — a subject
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — the season
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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