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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. field — farmland
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. field — a subject
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wax — to grow
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bore — to tire
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wax — for sculpting

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