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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — for sport
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. last — to go on
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stock — shares
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — finally
  23. stock — goods
  24. field — a subject

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