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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. field — for sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fine — high quality
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fine — all right
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bark — to shout

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