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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. swing — in golf
  9. toast — bread
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — to play on
  14. field — for sport
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pass — a permit
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. bore — to tire
  23. swing — music
  24. pass — to spend time

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