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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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Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — a phone
  6. face — to confront
  7. race — a contest
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — humankind
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. face — to point toward
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. field — farmland
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. saw — the 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