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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cold — an illness
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — a subject
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ball — a dance
  19. branch — a division
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — rain
  23. ball — a great time
  24. safe — a strongbox

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