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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — farmland
  9. craft — boats
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. field — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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