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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kid — child
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. field — a subject
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. key — in music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. field — farmland
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. field — for sport
  21. key — the most important part
  22. craft — boats
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — in biology

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