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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. current — happening now
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. field — for sport
  21. fall — the season
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. capital — money
  24. field — a subject

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