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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — farmland
  5. drill — army training
  6. land — a country
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. field — a subject
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wax — to grow
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — for sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. land — to come down
  18. fall — the season
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — a practice
  22. dip — to sink
  23. drill — the tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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