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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — for catching
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. net — in sport
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. object — to protest
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — after costs
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. cold — not warm
  22. object — an aim
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — farmland

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