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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. board — to get on
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — farmland
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. tube — the underground
  14. board — a committee
  15. tube — a container
  16. march — the month
  17. field — a subject
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rash — hasty
  23. field — for sport
  24. tube — in a tire

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