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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a document
  12. field — for sport
  13. file — a tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. current — electric
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. file — a line of people

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