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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. saw — the tool
  4. swing — to play on
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stem — to come from
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. scale — for weighing

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