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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. field — farmland
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a document
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. file — a tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — a subject
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — a face
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. field — for sport
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tear — to rip

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