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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rash — hasty
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rock — music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. field — farmland
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — an amount
  23. face — to confront
  24. wax — in the ear

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