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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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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. ground — a position
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — finally
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — a law
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — government
  21. field — for sport
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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