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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. row — to paddle
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — humankind
  7. pop — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wax — to grow
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — for sport
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. row — a quarrel

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