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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spell — magic
  4. branch — a division
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — a subject
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — in sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mug — a face
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. mug — to rob
  24. net — after costs

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