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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. object — to protest
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wax — to grow
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. object — a thing
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — rain
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — for sport
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — a subject

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