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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wax — to grow
  8. race — a contest
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. clip — a video
  13. march — music
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — humankind
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. field — farmland
  22. roll — a cake
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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