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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. field — a subject
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. season — in sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. season — of the year
  8. root — of a word
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. root — the cause
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wax — to grow
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. field — farmland
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — a division
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. season — to add flavour

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