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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — a subject
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wax — to grow
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — a series
  20. swing — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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