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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — size or range
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — a subject
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mug — a cup
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cell — a phone
  17. field — for sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — in music
  21. mug — to rob
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wax — to grow

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