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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. object — to protest
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. object — an aim
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. field — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — a subject
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — part of the head

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