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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 124 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. club — a group
  7. spring — of water
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. field — farmland
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bass — low music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. field — a subject
  15. club — for dancing
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. club — for golf
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. drill — army training
  24. fork — a garden tool

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