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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. key — the most important part
  3. field — farmland
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stand — to bear
  8. rest — a break
  9. spell — a short time
  10. season — of the year
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rest — what's left
  13. key — for a lock
  14. board — a committee
  15. field — a subject
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. board — to get on
  20. wax — to grow
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. spell — magic
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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