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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — the time now
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. vault — a safe
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — to grow
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. hand — help
  18. field — a subject
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hand — part of the body

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