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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. field — a subject
  5. fine — all right
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — high quality
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — for sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a line
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cell — a phone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. wake — a trail
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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