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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. root — of a plant
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — farmland
  10. drill — army training
  11. root — the cause
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. root — of a word

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